Unlike his colleagues who seemed eager to dive into their meals, Dream took his time. His sandwich sat for a long moment before he picked it up and gave a small, delicate bite. Even his eating was reserved, like an ancient being who had all the time in the world to swallow a mouthful. He ate and drank as carefully and controlled as he did everything else, taking a slow sip of tea afterwards. Matthew on the other hand was tearing into the pancakes and trying to cajole a fry from Kate, too.
"I do not share one person's dreams with another, no. That would be a betrayal of their unconscious," Dream confirmed with a single nod of his head. "The only instance where I would consider it is if the person wanted their dream shared for a particular reason." That really didn't happen, but he supposed that if Hob desperately wanted Dream to let his dreams by known to his new girlfriend, Dream would share their details. "Most people want to keep their dreams for themselves, or share them personally. Why do you ask?"
"Yeah, that's what I thought." There was lost to be said about someone like Morpheus, but the one thing that Kate could guess was that he had strong work ethics. Maybe not infallible? But then, even Gods were very human in some ways.
"Well, I wouldn't ask for details," she started after swallowing a big bite of her burger. Even as she reached for a fry she did a good job at pretending she couldn't see what Matthew was doing. "But I was wondering if you could tell me if my mom is having good dreams."
Morpheus studied Kate for a long moment, the tea and food once again forgotten in front of him. There wasn't a lack of compassion on his face, but it was accompanied by a reserved wall. He couldn't let his empathy for her situation bleed out into making deals and cracks in his rules. He liked Kate, he truly did, he even considered her a friend. Yet he could not give her special treatment in a manner that compromised how he ran the Dreaming. A one time boon was one thing, details on another dreamer was another. He knew why she asked, and he knew Kate liked to push boundaries, but he had to hold firm this time.
"I cannot talk about another's dreams, Kate." His tone was final, though soft. Frost cresting over the sharp tip of a mountain, to soften the edge with its coldness. There was a momentary pause before he added, "Perhaps it is something you might ask her yourself, though. If you are wondering about her, this is not likely to abate the more you don't seek answers. At least if you face her again you will know whether it was the right or wrong decision." Until then, it would remain an eternal What If, which was the domain of dreams and not meant to be a way to get through days of the living.
Dream's answer wasn't much of a shocker. In fact, it was what Kate had pretty much expected it would be. This was, after all, the same Dream that only granted her the gift to walk into her (lover? Boyfriend?) -- Into her partner's dream only if she had his explicit consent to do so.
Honestly, she could only hope that every being as powerful as Morpheus is shares also his work ethics.
"It's okay, I get it." She told him as soon as he reminded her of his rules. But, it was after Dream reminded her that there was other ways to find the answers that she could do little but stare at him in surprise. Well, that was her own words, her own point, all shoved right back to her face. Sometimes, when there's distance between you and an issue, you can give the best kind of advice. And Dream just did that.
"That's true. I've... Sort of heard this before. But I keep delaying seeing my mom. Telling myself I'm too busy to do it or to even think about it." Avoiding it is so much easier.
Many who met Dream for the first time did not welcome him. Oh, he was far more loved than Death by mortals, but still. There were many who held animosity over what their dreams told them. Nightmares that people fled from rather than facing. Dream didn't know what the interactions between Kate and her mother in the waking world had comprised of entirely, but he did know some truths about the situation from the nights she spent trying harder and harder to run away from unseen troubles. That Kate didn't push him for answers showed that she was indeed a friend, and not merely a desperate person looking to a higher power for help. He appreciated it, as he genuinely didn't like disappointing people. Some of his siblings could perhaps be bargained with, but he wouldn't say the world was better off for it.
"It would appear that you are not too busy to think about it." He said it simply and plainly, pointing out the obvious. Slowly he took another bite of the sandwich and a sip of tea. "What are you afraid of facing when you see her once more?" It was perhaps not a question most of polite society might boldly ask, but Dream didn't always play by normal society rules.
Matthew hopped closer to Kate, laying a wing on her arm for a moment. "Listen, as someone who died randomly before getting any of his shit together, don't delay things too long. 'cause now I get to help fix other people's problems but not everything I wanted to get fixed, you know?" He felt Dream's eyes on him as he said that. Dream had been very clear that Matthew had to severe all his past ties to the waking world, and Matthew had done that. It didn't make it any easier, though.
Even though Kate seemed content with Dream's answer, his questions were a completely different story. Grabbing her soda, she had just taken a sip and almost choken on it, spitting it back into her glass before she was caught in a coughing fit.
"Shit, Morph, you really don't hold back your punches," she groaned as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Matthew took the chance to approach her and, while he was being nothing but kind with his advice, it was still a tough pill to swallow.
"I..." Kate took a deep breath, for once avoiding Dream's dark and profound gaze. "I know. I know what you guys are saying." At least, what the raven did. Morpheus seemed to be genuinelly asking, wondering about Kate's reasoning to avoid her mom. "I know I should live life at the fullest and I shouldn't waste my time. I already lost my dad." And back when Fisk wanted to blackmail her mother, the possibility of losing Eleanor had become a terrifying reality.
But how to explain what was holding her back right now?
"I know I'm not too busy, but I'm busy enough to convince myself that there's other things I should be worrying about first." Even though she did some basic work on the fundraiser and the office, unless there was an unavoidable meeting then Kate could get away with sneaking back home whenever she pleased. Of course, she tried to do the basic hours almost every day, even if sometimes she did arrive a little later if her night had been specially rough.
Fisk and the task force, she told herself, was something she should be worrying about first.
Her relationship with Matt too, that had been her light at the end of the tunnel. A distraction that was all too sweet to ignore, luring her away from her latest worries.
Anything was easier than thinking about her mother.
"I guess -- I guess it's easier telling myself that at some point I'm gonna reach out, but that it's never the right moment to do it." Would there ever be a right moment? "It's kinda tough to think of facing her. I do miss her. I do miss who my mom used to be before I figured out that she'd done all those horrible things."
"There are no right moments. There are merely moments, for you to do with them what is wished. It sounds like you have told these excuses many times by now then, to yourself and others. It will do little good for you to keep repeating them." He didn't say it with the intention to be unkind, merely pointing out the obvious from what Kate has stated. Dream was what his function was, and that meant having little patience for people attempting to lie to themselves. "If it is easier for you to avoid her, then that is your choice. The waffling though does no favors, and you already know the risk." That putting it off for so long might mean there won't be time left. "I would think you want the choice to be up to you and on your terms, rather than the choice being taken from you." He gave a small shrug. "I merely wish for you not to have regrets."
Like leaving a lover in Hell for 10,000 years, or leaving an estranged son wanting to die for several millennia.
He could empathize with Kate's avoidance, but he couldn't say it would end happily because of it. In his experience, the longer the delay, the worse off the situation became. Although, Eleanor was the one who'd hurt Kate, unlike Dream who'd inflicted the pain of his estranged loved ones. That added an extra layer of guilt into the mix on his end that he was trying not to let influence his talk with her.
What if he'd dealt with Orpheus sooner, before that tragic night where his body had been torn apart? Pride and fear had caused the torment of the being he loved more than anyone.
His gaze was no longer on her. It was somewhere far past both of them.
"Time may heal some wounds, but other times, it causes them."
Kate listened to what Dream had to say. How, even though he most times he seemed to be quiet and distant, he now became patient as he talked away. Kate, picking a fry, stirred the ketchup in the little container that had come with her meal. But, despite of her silence, she didn't feel as if she was being called out. Honestly, the more she heard Morpheus talk? The more that sensation he fed to her heart, fooled her into imagining a very young kind of grandfather that was merely looking out for her through sharing his experiences.
He didn't want her to have regrets.
"Yeah, I get it," she was quick to point out, after she finally dared to give that fry a bite. "I know I need to listen. That you've seen it all and you know better." That she looked a little moody herself, that she seemed to have captured a little of his normal vibe by falling quite quiet herself. But in all honesty? She knew this was out of love.
Grabbing a fry, she reminded herself of how Matthew had attempted to steal one while she wasn't supposed to be looking. This time she openly offered it.
"I already have someone who offered me to be there for me if I can't do it on my own. I know I need to get my shit together and go for it. With him or on my own." Kate had the strenght. As much as she wanted Matt to be there. "I know mom may have changed, but I also know she still wants to look after me. That everyone deserves a second chance."
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2025-07-09 10:59 pm (UTC)"I do not share one person's dreams with another, no. That would be a betrayal of their unconscious," Dream confirmed with a single nod of his head. "The only instance where I would consider it is if the person wanted their dream shared for a particular reason." That really didn't happen, but he supposed that if Hob desperately wanted Dream to let his dreams by known to his new girlfriend, Dream would share their details. "Most people want to keep their dreams for themselves, or share them personally. Why do you ask?"
no subject
Date: 2025-07-09 11:13 pm (UTC)"Well, I wouldn't ask for details," she started after swallowing a big bite of her burger. Even as she reached for a fry she did a good job at pretending she couldn't see what Matthew was doing. "But I was wondering if you could tell me if my mom is having good dreams."
no subject
Date: 2025-07-09 11:24 pm (UTC)"I cannot talk about another's dreams, Kate." His tone was final, though soft. Frost cresting over the sharp tip of a mountain, to soften the edge with its coldness. There was a momentary pause before he added, "Perhaps it is something you might ask her yourself, though. If you are wondering about her, this is not likely to abate the more you don't seek answers. At least if you face her again you will know whether it was the right or wrong decision." Until then, it would remain an eternal What If, which was the domain of dreams and not meant to be a way to get through days of the living.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-10 10:37 am (UTC)Honestly, she could only hope that every being as powerful as Morpheus is shares also his work ethics.
"It's okay, I get it." She told him as soon as he reminded her of his rules. But, it was after Dream reminded her that there was other ways to find the answers that she could do little but stare at him in surprise. Well, that was her own words, her own point, all shoved right back to her face. Sometimes, when there's distance between you and an issue, you can give the best kind of advice. And Dream just did that.
"That's true. I've... Sort of heard this before. But I keep delaying seeing my mom. Telling myself I'm too busy to do it or to even think about it." Avoiding it is so much easier.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-10 12:25 pm (UTC)"It would appear that you are not too busy to think about it." He said it simply and plainly, pointing out the obvious. Slowly he took another bite of the sandwich and a sip of tea. "What are you afraid of facing when you see her once more?" It was perhaps not a question most of polite society might boldly ask, but Dream didn't always play by normal society rules.
Matthew hopped closer to Kate, laying a wing on her arm for a moment. "Listen, as someone who died randomly before getting any of his shit together, don't delay things too long. 'cause now I get to help fix other people's problems but not everything I wanted to get fixed, you know?" He felt Dream's eyes on him as he said that. Dream had been very clear that Matthew had to severe all his past ties to the waking world, and Matthew had done that. It didn't make it any easier, though.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-10 07:20 pm (UTC)"Shit, Morph, you really don't hold back your punches," she groaned as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Matthew took the chance to approach her and, while he was being nothing but kind with his advice, it was still a tough pill to swallow.
"I..." Kate took a deep breath, for once avoiding Dream's dark and profound gaze. "I know. I know what you guys are saying." At least, what the raven did. Morpheus seemed to be genuinelly asking, wondering about Kate's reasoning to avoid her mom. "I know I should live life at the fullest and I shouldn't waste my time. I already lost my dad." And back when Fisk wanted to blackmail her mother, the possibility of losing Eleanor had become a terrifying reality.
But how to explain what was holding her back right now?
"I know I'm not too busy, but I'm busy enough to convince myself that there's other things I should be worrying about first." Even though she did some basic work on the fundraiser and the office, unless there was an unavoidable meeting then Kate could get away with sneaking back home whenever she pleased. Of course, she tried to do the basic hours almost every day, even if sometimes she did arrive a little later if her night had been specially rough.
Fisk and the task force, she told herself, was something she should be worrying about first.
Her relationship with Matt too, that had been her light at the end of the tunnel. A distraction that was all too sweet to ignore, luring her away from her latest worries.
Anything was easier than thinking about her mother.
"I guess -- I guess it's easier telling myself that at some point I'm gonna reach out, but that it's never the right moment to do it." Would there ever be a right moment? "It's kinda tough to think of facing her. I do miss her. I do miss who my mom used to be before I figured out that she'd done all those horrible things."
no subject
Date: 2025-07-10 08:21 pm (UTC)Like leaving a lover in Hell for 10,000 years, or leaving an estranged son wanting to die for several millennia.
He could empathize with Kate's avoidance, but he couldn't say it would end happily because of it. In his experience, the longer the delay, the worse off the situation became. Although, Eleanor was the one who'd hurt Kate, unlike Dream who'd inflicted the pain of his estranged loved ones. That added an extra layer of guilt into the mix on his end that he was trying not to let influence his talk with her.
What if he'd dealt with Orpheus sooner, before that tragic night where his body had been torn apart? Pride and fear had caused the torment of the being he loved more than anyone.
His gaze was no longer on her. It was somewhere far past both of them.
"Time may heal some wounds, but other times, it causes them."
no subject
Date: 2025-07-10 11:13 pm (UTC)He didn't want her to have regrets.
"Yeah, I get it," she was quick to point out, after she finally dared to give that fry a bite. "I know I need to listen. That you've seen it all and you know better." That she looked a little moody herself, that she seemed to have captured a little of his normal vibe by falling quite quiet herself. But in all honesty? She knew this was out of love.
Grabbing a fry, she reminded herself of how Matthew had attempted to steal one while she wasn't supposed to be looking. This time she openly offered it.
"I already have someone who offered me to be there for me if I can't do it on my own. I know I need to get my shit together and go for it. With him or on my own." Kate had the strenght. As much as she wanted Matt to be there. "I know mom may have changed, but I also know she still wants to look after me. That everyone deserves a second chance."